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In regards to ducks, duck callers, and duck calling, Nash Buckingham once said, “A duck call in the hands of the unskilled is conservation’s greatest asset.” Mr. Buckingham may be spot on when it comes to poor duck calling being responsible for saving the lives of countless mallards over the last 100 years or so. But not-so-good duck calling can’t be blamed on the calls themselves.
Today, duck hunters are blessed with an almost infinite number of call options and materials—single reeds, double reeds, mylar, metal, wood, acrylic, polycarbonate, and hybrids. Honestly, it's a bit overwhelming. That's why you have to first identify what you want out of a duck call. This can mean a call for a specific species, certain types of materials, or a particular number of reeds. Of course, your budget is going to factor in as well.
To help you narrow down your list, I've listed some of my favorite calls from over the years and included a few new picks that caught my eye recently. Here are the best duck calls to add to your lanyard.
Best Duck Calls of 2024
Best Overall: Bill Saunders EZ7
Best Whistle: Buck Gardner 6-in-1 Whistle
Best Single Reed: Field Proven Single Shot
Best Double Reed: Slayer Calls Drake Slayer
Best Wood Duck Call: Primos Classic Wood Duck
Best Budget: Big Lake Calls Duck Popper Hunter’s Pack
The Rest of the Best Duck Calls
How I Picked The Best Duck Calls
Over the past three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to try dozens upon dozens of different calls—single reeds, double reeds, and even a triple reed. I’ve used wood, polycarbonate, acrylic, and one-of-a-kind custom designs. During that time, I’ve found that every caller is different, and a one-size-fits-all kind of duck call doesn’t exist.
There’s really no difference between the criteria I used to pick the duck calls featured below and how a new waterfowl hunter goes about selecting their first call. The first thing to consider is how the call sounds. That might seem obvious, but the call has to sound like a duck. I've blown every one of these calls and I've listened to the manufacturers blow them. In fact, we've included multiple audio links below.
Next, I consider how user-friendly the call is. It should be easy to blow correctly. Single reed duck calls are extremely versatile in the sounds they produce; however, they’re a little less forgiving and require a better working knowledge of the basics than a double reed call. Most, myself included, started with a double reed and “grew into” a single reed. Though, I still always have a double reed on my lanyard.
Service after the sale goes hand-in-hand with buying from a reputable and recognized call maker. It’s good to know you can call or write the person whose name is on the call and ask questions, get parts or advice, or simply return the call for tuning.
Finally, there’s price. For beginners, a $20 to $30 duck call is fully capable of providing both a good educational foundation and encouraging results afield. However, as most callers build experience and hands-on knowledge, they begin the hunt for a premium call. Perhaps an acrylic or a cut down style call. Below, you'll find everything from beginner calls all the way to high-end calls made of premium materials.
The Best Duck Calls: Reviews & Recommendations
Best Overall: Bill Saunders EZ7
Specs
Materials: Acrylic composite
Reed Design: Single
Pros
Versatile single reed call, but blows like a double
Hand-tuned
Rugged acrylic design
Excellent highs and lows
Cons
A little bit of a learning curve
I like Saunders for several reasons. He’s originally from Wisconsin and I’m a Buckeye State native. He hunts ducks, geese, and turkeys. And he makes one hell of a duck call. That said, his EZ7 is another in a long list, seven to be exact, of excellent duck calls to come out of Saunders’ workshop. The name comes from the fact that, with this call, it’s easy to kill Washington state’s limit of seven mallards.
It’s every bit as good, if not a little better, than his earlier Fox, Clutch, and Refuge Series tools. A single reed, the EZ7 has a diverse repertoire and excels at basic cadences. The acrylic composite is tough, and should there be an issue, Saunders is but a phone call away and is happy to make things right.
Best Whistle: Buck Gardner 6-in-1 Whistle
Specs
Materials: Plastic
Reed Design: Whistle
Pros
Easy to use
Good volume
Versatile
Affordable
Can be used as a dog whistle in a pinch
Cons
Made of plastic
I've had the Buck Gardner 6-in-1 on my lanyard for over 20 years. In fact, it was originally marketed as a “Hawk Call,” a whistle used to reproduce the scream of a red-tailed hawk and, hopefully, convince a wild turkey to gobble. It does that and more, which is amazing when you think this is but one of seven wild sounds the 6-in-1 does. Let me put it this way: It’s like conjuring up Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony from a slightly used Zip-Lock bag.
For the waterfowler, the 6-in-1 can duplicate the sounds of a drake mallard’s lispy dweek, the trill of a drake pintail, the drake widgeon’s breathy woo-WHIT-woo, the high-pitched peep…peep of the green-wing teal; and the eerie squeal of both the drake and hen wood duck. All for $7, and you’re not going to slip into a deep, dark depression if it gets lost.
Best Single Reed: Field Proven Single Shot
Specs
Materials: Polycarbonate
Reed Design: Single
Pros
Available as a polycarbonate, hybrid, and acrylic version
Top-notch service after the sale
Hybrid (wood/poly) option
Hand-tuned
Cons
Acrylic version is a bit pricey
Since 2000, Field Hudnall—one-half of Field Proven Calls—has competed in 107 calling competitions, both ducks and geese and has placed in the top five in 97 of those. So I’m going to say the young Kentuckian knows a little bit about calling things, along with making calls.
Hudnall’s flagship single reed is about as user-friendly as a single reed gets, yet it allows a new caller to grow into the call as his/her experience level and skills increase. In my opinion, it’s a really good-looking call, rugged and tough, too. The Single Shot is offered in polycarbonate, full acrylic, and a poly/hedge wood hybrid and at three different price points, from $40 to $130, putting it in near everyone’s pocketbook.
Best Double Reed: Slayer Calls Drake Slayer
Specs
Materials: Acrylic
Reed Design: Double
Pros
User-friendly double reed
Good volume control
Environmentally versatile, i.e. open water, timber, marsh
Cons
May be considered pricey for some budgets
Headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Slayer Calls is one of the proverbial new kids on the block, having just opened their doors—electronically, that is—in 2021. There wasn’t a lot of fanfare at first until people got their hands on these calls. Then things changed, and calls like the company’s flagship Drake Slayer (DS), not only began to get noticed, but built up a good following. Today, Slayer calls makes not only waterfowl calls, but elk and turkey calls as well, and is on the fast track to becoming a major player.
The Drake Slayer comes across as a high-end custom call at a most reasonable acrylic price. Every Slayer duck call is finished and hand-tuned by Mr. Ayers himself. Nothing goes out the door that he hasn’t had a hand on. I find the DS quite user-friendly and not prone to saliva-induced lock-up. It’s light—a full ounce lighter than either the Field Proven or ZINK calls I carry—but not so light as to not be bouncy or feel unsubstantial. And I like that the DS is what I call "environmentally versatile," serving well in shallow sheetwater as it does in a wide-open tidal marsh.
Best Wood Duck Call: Primos Classic Wood Duck
Specs
Materials: Wood or polycarbonate
Reed design: Single
Pros
Mimics wood ducks on the water, as well as flying
Can double as a peacock turkey locator call
High pitch carries well in buckbrush and flooded timber
Smoke poly, $10; Diamond Wood, $25
Cons
Limited applicability
The debate continues as to whether wood ducks pay any attention to calls at all. I’ve personally seen them work, and I’ve seen them ignored. Some hunters swear by them, though, and blowing a wood duck call at a wood duck makes more sense to me than blowing a mallard call at a wood duck.
Primos’ Classic Wood Duck Call is a pretty little thing in Diamond Wood, rather Plain Jane in its smoke polycarbonate form. Both sport what I’ll call a short reed-esque insert, with a narrow tone channel and smallish dog-eared mylar reed. These work in synch to produce the high-pitched whines, squeals, and peeps that wood ducks make either at rest on the water or flying overhead. If you’re in the Atlantic or Mississippi flyways, where woodies are most numerous, you should have this on your lanyard.
Best Budget: Big Lake Calls Duck Popper Hunter’s Pack
Specs
Materials: Polycarbonate and wood
Reed Design: Single (wood duck), Double (mallard)
Accessories: Lanyard
Pros
Great starter kit for a new hunter
Affordable
“Perfect Timber” double reed is user-friendly/versatile
Cons
Western U.S. hunters might find a pintail or widgeon call more useful
Big Lake’s Duck Popper Hunter’s Pack starts with a nice polycarbonate “Perfect Timber” double reed, complete with both mylar and metal reeds, and throws in the “Perfect Woodie” wood duck call. No, they’re not cutting-edge. No, they’re nothing tremendously fancy. They are good-sounding meat calls on a lanyard that, with practice, can fool any mallard—and maybe a wood duck or two—that flies north to south in the fall. Both the call and the lanyard can be had for just $55.
Plus, I’ve been told Big Lake will likely offer the Duck Popper Hunter’s Pack with their Widgeon Magnet call in lieu of the Perfect Woodie for fowlers in the Central and Pacific flyways.
The Rest of the Best Duck Calls
Buck Gardner Double Nasty
Specs
Materials: Polycarbonate
Reed Design: Double
Pros
Versatile double reed
Exceptionally user-friendly
Great service after the sale
Cons
None
I had the honor of meeting Buck Gardner just four years after he won the World Duck Calling Championships in Stuttgart, Arkansas, in 1994, and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. Gardner walks the walk and truly talks the talk. The southern gentleman just knows ducks, and what’s more, he knows how to build a great-sounding duck call and make it available to the everyday hunter.
Heralded as the “cornerstone” of the company’s duck call line, the Double Nasty is as easy-blowing as they come. Sporting Gardner’s innovative Spit-Tech Technology, the DN can be blown wet. It doesn’t lock up—guaranteed—when the tone board gets soaked, be it from saliva, condensation, or swamp water after an accidental dunking. It's affordable, too, at $30.
Slayer Calls Dubar
Specs
Materials: Polycarbonate
Reed Design: Single
Pros
Incredibly user-friendly
Unique true-to-life sound
Notches practically eliminate reed stick
Cons
Expensive
Dubar, if you’re intrigued, stands for “Ducked Up Beyond All Recognition,” playing on the U.S. Military’s slightly different translation. The single reed Dubar features a notched tone board and matching reed meant to replicate a live duck’s mouth and, as such, a real duck’s voice.
With a unique sound, non-stick insert, an excellent UFR (User-Friendliness Rating), and excellent service after the sale, the Dubar is a great addition to any lanyard—novice or veteran caller alike.
Legendary Gear Nose Dive Double Reed
Specs
Materials: Acrylic or Delrin
Reed Design: Double
Pros
Fantastic customer service
Easy to use double reed
Good speed; great rasp on the bottom end
Ergonomic design feels good and helps seal the mouthpiece
Cons
Acrylic model is expensive
I’ve known and worked with George Lynch, the man behind Legendary Gear, for close to 30 years now. Two things I know for certain are that the man makes excellent calls and personally stands behind every call that goes out the door. At $79, Lynch’s Delrin Nose Dive is an affordable, user-friendly double reed call. It is durable, too. No skulls. No flames. Just a simple, old-school look with great sound and volume.
Molt Gear’s Ol’ River Man
Specs
Materials: Acrylic
Reed Design: Single
Pros
Easily tuned
Awesome range ‘tween highs and lows
Half a dozen color/pattern options
Cons
Semi-steep learning curve
Expensive
As I have with Lynch, I’ve worked with Scott Threinen, owner of Molt Gear, for two decades now. Not only has the young former third baseman for the Cleveland Guardians impressed me as a person, but his work with duck calls has been outstanding. The biggest issue with his single reed Ol’ River Man duck call? Getting your hands on one. Once you do, though, the sounds that can come out of that barrel are just outstanding. This one does take a little bit of learning. So newcomers, hang in there.
What to Consider When Choosing Duck Calls
Bear with me here when I say that picking a duck call isn’t all that different from choosing a new vehicle. You do your research, uncover what’s available in terms of base models and options, overlay that availability onto your particular driving style and requirements, consider the price tag, and, once all that’s said and done, you make the purchase. Same story here, with that list of variables and considerations including the following.
Sound
I’d go so far as to say a call that reproduces the quack of a hen mallard in all its variations is universal. That is, if you can quack, you’re going to be reasonably well-set to “talk duck” throughout any of the four flyways, those being the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific. There are species-specific calls available—teal, wood ducks, pintails, widgeon, gadwall, and divers—but you’ll work your way into those soon enough.
Reeds
Today, the most common reed material is mylar, a type of tough plastic, with either one (single) or two (double) reed(s). However, metal reeds do exist, as do duck calls with three (triple) reeds. For most callers, a mylar reed(s) is the go-to. As for how many, a single reed is extremely versatile, but has a steeper learning curve than does the perhaps more user-friendly double reed. Either can work well.
Construction Materials
There are three primary choices in terms of the material used to create the duck call body—wood, polycarbonate (poly), a strong plastic material, and acrylic, aka Plexiglas, another durable plastic. Wooden calls look and sound great, but require care and maintenance because…well, they’re wood. Poly calls are less expensive than acrylic calls, but the latter is more attractive. A good middle-of-the-road? Polycarbonate.
Custom vs. Production Calls
Thousands of ducks are fooled each year by ’fowlers blowing production (mass-produced) calls. These instruments are less expensive than custom calls. However, with these mass-produced tools, one-on-one customer service, e.g. call tuning or questions, can be a challenge. Custom calls are, by nature, more expensive than production calls, but a buyer usually has access to the individual making the call, and can ask questions or discuss after-the-purchase services like tuning or parts (reeds and wedges/corks) replacement.
Price
Duck call price varies considerably, with a call out there that will fit everyone’s budget. Single or double-reed production calls might cost less than $15. However, higher-end custom acrylic calls in specialty colors and patterns, with/without engraving, extra reeds, hard cases, and backed by one-on-one customer service may push or exceed $200. It’s wise to shop around.
FAQs
Q: What’s easier—single reed, or double reed?
Single reed duck calls are extremely versatile in the sounds they can make; however, they can prove a bit more challenging for the novice to master due to the control (air delivery/pressure) needed to properly manipulate that single reed. Conversely, double reed calls are more forgiving and perhaps “easier” for the beginner to produce the proper sounds, but conventional wisdom says that double reeds—triple reeds, too—will output a smaller range of true duck sounds.
Q: Are wooden duck calls any good?
Wooden duck calls are undeniably beautiful, and the richness of wood produces, many believe, the most realistic of duck sounds. Unlike a synthetic material, e.g. polycarbonate or acrylic, wooden duck calls do require an uptick in care and maintenance, as factors such as prolonged moisture, extreme heat, or freezing temperatures can adversely affect their physical being. Too, wooden calls will expand and contract over time, thus changing tone (sound) to some degree.
Q: Are acrylic duck calls better than polycarbonate or wood?
Better? That really depends. If all three sound exactly alike, then the decision rests on three factors: Price, as acrylic is going to be more expensive than either polycarbonate or wood; Visual appearance, as acrylic is, to some, much more attractive than the others; and Usage, or how careful you want to be with your call. Acrylic is tough and stands up to abuse, much like polycarbonate; however, wood is going to be a bit more “fragile,” per se, than the other two. The bottom line is that wood versus polycarbonate versus acrylic is, for the most part, a matter of personal preference.
Best Duck Calls: Final Thoughts
Choosing a duck call isn’t really all that tough once you’ve decided on how much you’d like to spend. Determine a price range and figure out how you’re going to treat that call. No one, myself very much included, stops at one duck call. Never. There’s always room for another.
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